This guy is way beyond "influential" - he's a Catholic mega-star. He's been on EWTN forever. Groeschel is to Catholics as Neill DeGrasse Tyson is to armchair astronomers. People trust him. They listen to him as an authoritative source of information. As friars go, he's a total badass.

And he's saying shiat like this. Kreist.

Oh - and: If you go back 10 or 15 years ago with different sexual difficulties - except for rape or violence - it was very rarely brought as a civil crime. Nobody thought of it that way.

Bullshiat. It's still illegal to have gay sex in many states. And it's ILLEGAL TO RAPE LITTLE BOYS EVERYWHERE, YOU GODDAMN F*CKWIT.

This. I can't believe it's Groeschel. When I used to stay with my Mom she always had ewtn on. I liked this guy. You would listen to him and think OK here's a guy that gets it and is pretty cool. But this.....and in the actual interview in NCR he kind of half way defends Sandusky. WTF?!?!?!?!?

Here's the thing I don't get. Boy's penises are just so small. It doesn't seem like they'd be at all pleasurable from either the giving or receiving end.

Now, maybe it'd be different with 18 year olds whose bodies are much more developed, but at that point you're just going to have to admit that you're having a homosexual relationship and not an innocent sexual relationship between man and boy.

FTFA:In a recent interview with the National Catholic Register, Father Benedict Groeschel, of the conservative Franciscan Friars of the Renewal, said that teens act as seducers in some sexual abuse cases involving priests.

I think this guy must be lining himself up for the presidency of a NAMBLA chapter...

1: Inappropriate seductive behavior from a youngster is almost always due to them having previously been sexually abused by someone. Keep in mind here i said inappropriate behavior - like making a run at a priest.

2: The ADULT in that situation is supposed to, you know, BE THE ADULT. Failing to do so is inexcusable.

This guy is way beyond "influential" - he's a Catholic mega-star. He's been on EWTN forever. Groeschel is to Catholics as Neill DeGrasse Tyson is to armchair astronomers. People trust him. They listen to him as an authoritative source of information. As friars go, he's a total badass.

And he's saying shiat like this. Kreist.

Oh - and: If you go back 10 or 15 years ago with different sexual difficulties - except for rape or violence - it was very rarely brought as a civil crime. Nobody thought of it that way.

Bullshiat. It's still illegal to have gay sex in many states. And it's ILLEGAL TO RAPE LITTLE BOYS EVERYWHERE, YOU GODDAMN F*CKWIT.

This. I can't believe it's Groeschel. When I used to stay with my Mom she always had ewtn on. I liked this guy. You would listen to him and think OK here's a guy that gets it and is pretty cool. But this.....and in the actual interview in NCR he kind of half way defends Sandusky. WTF?!?!?!?!?

New orders came down from the Lizard People. Guy's just trying to keep from getting eaten.

This may be true. Teens are horny and when I was thirteen or fourteen I didn't know why I should have to wait til I was 18 to have sex with adults. Nonetheless, the adult in that situation needs to be firm and say no. The kid may think he wants to have sex but he can't legally give consent, so the adult needs to be the mature one and stop anything from happening.

Even Jesus was betrayed by his own people, friend-o. The world is filled with ugly people, some hide behind politics, some shields and guns, and some behind a holy text. Christianity, Islam, paganism...they all have people that make the faith look bad. Is it right that the church hasn't taken a stronger stand against it? No, it's disgusting. But they don't represent all Christians, just like bin Laden didn't represent all Muslims.

/sad hearing about the abuse of children//should there be a death penalty for it?

"If you go back 10 or 15 years ago with different sexual difficulties - except for rape or violence - it was very rarely brought as a civil crime. Nobody thought of it that way... And I'm inclined to think, on [a priest's] first offense, they should not go to jail because their intention was not committing a crime."

Part of your work here at Trinity has been working with priests involved in abuse, no?A little bit, yes; but you know, in those cases, they have to leave. And some of them profoundly - profoundly - penitential, horrified. People have this picture in their minds of a person planning to - a psychopath. But that's not the case. Suppose you have a man having a nervous breakdown, and a youngster comes after him. A lot of the cases, the youngster - 14, 16, 18 - is the seducer.

Why would that be?Well, it's not so hard to see - a kid looking for a father and didn't have his own - and they won't be planning to get into heavy-duty sex, but almost romantic, embracing, kissing, perhaps sleeping but not having intercourse or anything like that.It's an understandable thing, and you know where you find it, among other clergy or important people; you look at teachers, attorneys, judges, social workers. Generally, if they get involved, it's heterosexually, and if it's a priest, he leaves and gets married - that's the usual thing - and gets a dispensation. A lot of priests leave quickly, get civilly married and then apply for the dispensation, which takes about three years.

But there are the relatively rare cases where a priest is involved in a homosexual way with a minor. I think the statistic I read recently in a secular psychology review was about 2%. Would that be true of other clergy? Would it be true of doctors, lawyers, coaches?

Here's this poor guy - [Penn State football coach Jerry] Sandusky - it went on for years. Interesting: Why didn't anyone say anything? Apparently, a number of kids knew about it and didn't break the ice. Well, you know, until recent years, people did not register in their minds that it was a crime. It was a moral failure, scandalous; but they didn't think of it in terms of legal things.

If you go back 10 or 15 years ago with different sexual difficulties - except for rape or violence - it was very rarely brought as a civil crime. Nobody thought of it that way. Sometimes statutory rape would be - but only if the girl pushed her case. Parents wouldn't touch it. People backed off, for years, on sexual cases. I'm not sure why.

I think perhaps part of the reason would be an embarrassment, that it brings the case out into the open, and the girl's name is there, or people will figure out what's there, or the youngster involved - you know, it's not put in the paper, but everybody knows; they're talking about it.

At this point, (when) any priest, any clergyman, any social worker, any teacher, any responsible person in society would become involved in a single sexual act - not necessarily intercourse - they're done.And I'm inclined to think, on their first offense, they should not go to jail because their intention was not committing a crime.

A Priest and a Rabbi were, by coincidence, sitting next to each other on a long flight.

About an hour passes and not a single word was exchanged by the two men. Finally, the Priest turns to the Rabbi and says, "Rabbi, do you mind if I ask you a personal question"? The Rabbi said, "Of course, you may."

"I understand that many of you Jewish people, especially Rabbis, keep kosher and, as such, don't eat things like bacon or ham". The Rabbi acknowledged that. "Haven't you ever even tasted bacon or ham?", asked the Priest.

The Rabbi explained, "Many years ago, I was a visiting Rabbi in a small town in the middle of nowhere and found myself in a diner one Sunday morning. There was no one around so I ordered bacon and eggs. It was quite good but that was the only time that ever happened."

After some time, the Rabbi turned to the Priest and said, "Father, do you mind if you ask you a very personal question"? The Priest said OK.

"You Priests take an oath of celibacy, right"?, asked the Rabbi. "Why, yes", answered the Priest, wondering where this was going.

"Well, haven't you ever had sex since you've become as Priest"?, asked the Rabbi. The Priest looked about nervous, leaned toward the rabbi and answered very softly, "As a young parishioner I was approached by a troubled woman who was looking for my guidance. She was a beautiful, young woman and one thing led to another. So, yes, just once I had sex with a woman".

A few moments pass and the Rabbi leans over to the Priest and says, "A lot better than pork, isn't it?"

I would like to start a petition to have the RCC excommunicated from the Christian ideology. That "church" has given more negative PR to Christianity than Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson would if they were cast on "The Real World".

So he openly admitted that these "men of God" are so weak and fallible that they'll succumb to the "seductions" of underage boys (that right there sounds like a heaping bowlful of victim blaming). The best solution is get rid of those people and let the law take care of them.

Also wondering why he mention 18-year-olds, when they hit that age they're now full adults except in the matters of drinking and smoking, which means that (according to them) it's no longer accepted pederasty but unholy homosexuality.

Benedict expressed a belief that most of these "relationships" are heterosexual in nature, and that historically sexual relationships between men and boys have not been thought of as crimes.

"If you go back 10 or 15 years ago with different sexual difficulties - except for rape or violence - it was very rarely brought as a civil crime. Nobody thought of it that way... And I'm inclined to think, on [a priest's] first offense, they should not go to jail because their intention was not committing a crime."

i hope that twisted arse freak dies a horribly painful death. may the suffering be drawn out over a good long time.

I was born into the RC faith and force-fed every rite and ritual until I turned 18. That is a lot of damage to undo. It takes time. Now I'm old. I got better.

Outside of social obligations (weddings & funerals) I will never step foot into another RC church, and they will never see another penny from me.

I'm confident there is a shiatload of people like me across America & around the world who have lost their faith. People aren't as tolerant and forgiving as some may think. Enough is enough.

They molest children, protect men who molested children, lie to those who look to them for truths, and browbeat their faithful into giving up their hard-earned coin. They have twisted the minds of the masses for hundreds & hundreds of years. They are responsible for incredible amounts of deaths and suffering. Many of their leaders have been some of the most notorious characters in history. Their current #1 guy was a Nazi.

I have more respect for junkies, whores, used car salesmen and alcoholics than I do for the RC Church.

Tarheel_Madness:The My Little Pony Killer: Any Fark Christians here to speak out against this guy? No?

Even Jesus was betrayed by his own people, friend-o. The world is filled with ugly people, some hide behind politics, some shields and guns, and some behind a holy text. Christianity, Islam, paganism...they all have people that make the faith look bad. Is it right that the church hasn't taken a stronger stand against it? No, it's disgusting. But they don't represent all Christians, just like bin Laden didn't represent all Muslims.

/sad hearing about the abuse of children//should there be a death penalty for it?

I am a recovered catholic who agrees with your sentiments. Most religious people I have known, and that's a lot, are well meaning. Demonstrably misguided but good hearted and well meaning.

///Sequestered prison island for life or death, either way. For any true child predator.

FTFA: "Well, it's not so hard to see - a kid looking for a father and didn't have his own - and they won't be planning to get into heavy-duty sex, but almost romantic, embracing, kissing, perhaps sleeping but not having intercourse or anything like that..."

thelonearranger:FTFA: "Well, it's not so hard to see - a kid looking for a father and didn't have his own - and they won't be planning to get into heavy-duty sex, but almost romantic, embracing, kissing, perhaps sleeping but not having intercourse or anything like that..."

[dailypicksandflicks.com image 600x436]

/hot

Sorry, that wasn't from the article, it was from the actual interview:http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/father-benedict-groeschel-reflec t s-on-25-years-of-the-franciscan-friars-of/

notatrollorami:Tarheel_Madness: The My Little Pony Killer: Any Fark Christians here to speak out against this guy? No?

Even Jesus was betrayed by his own people, friend-o. The world is filled with ugly people, some hide behind politics, some shields and guns, and some behind a holy text. Christianity, Islam, paganism...they all have people that make the faith look bad. Is it right that the church hasn't taken a stronger stand against it? No, it's disgusting. But they don't represent all Christians, just like bin Laden didn't represent all Muslims.

/sad hearing about the abuse of children//should there be a death penalty for it?

I am a recovered catholic who agrees with your sentiments. Most religious people I have known, and that's a lot, are well meaning. Demonstrably misguided but good hearted and well meaning.

///Sequestered prison island for life or death, either way. For any true child predator.

Yeah, I can pretty much say THIS. Most religious people I know are truly decent and well meaning. They're open minded and not pushy. But I think that's because most people that I know and associate with are that way.

I think that there are certain crimes that should mean complete banishment from society forever (if such a thing were possible).

runujhkj:Agent Smiths Laugh: runujhkj: Man, I hate atheists. They're so annoying, with all of their internet snark. How many people's feelings do they have to hurt before we start doing anything about them?

I know, we're such intolerable bastards when we use critical thinking and reason to argue you into a corner.

And it's SO MUCH FUN watching the theists squirm and contort.

Almost as much fun as a priest finds in watching an altar boy squirm and contort, I'd imagine.

Not really, because committing a crime against a child is very far removed from being able to exercise superior logic in a debate.

dbubb:Agent Smiths Laugh: runujhkj: Man, I hate atheists. They're so annoying, with all of their internet snark. How many people's feelings do they have to hurt before we start doing anything about them?

I know, we're such intolerable bastards when we use critical thinking and reason to argue you into a corner.

And it's SO MUCH FUN watching the theists squirm and contort.

So, if Christopher Hitchens had done something particularly heinous while he lived, would that make you recieve communion?

Is that how it works for you.

Nope, I'd seek his prosecution for whatever crime it was he committed.

But see, that's part of the problem with theists. Too many of them presume that if we don't subscribe to their particular myth and all it includes, we must surely be unable to behave in any moral manner.

Well, I have news for you. I have a very strong moral compass that is in no way dependent on some "higher authority" to work. It works because it's simple. Very, very simple.